Persistence of Breath-Holding Spells Into Late Childhood

Abstract

Breath-holding spells commonly occur during infancy. The disorder represents a self-limited, benign phenomenon, and breathholding spells almost always resolve by school age. Their continuing occurrence beyond this age is exceedingly uncommon and may create diagnostic confusion. We recently encountered an 8-year-old boy who continues to experience breath-holding spells. (J Child Neurol 2001;16:697-698).